


A dragon, three robots and a traitor walk into a bar...

by Tinnevelly



Category: Steam Powered Giraffe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-20
Updated: 2014-04-20
Packaged: 2018-01-20 04:29:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 7,197
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1496701
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tinnevelly/pseuds/Tinnevelly
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's a story through the years, beginning when a certain man falls from the sky. Roughly centered around Steve but there is enough of everyone in it.</p><p>Maybe trigger for violence?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> And another one. I hope you'll like it. It's quite dark and a bit of an experiment on how the robots and humans would deal with a situation they can't get out alone.
> 
> Disclaimer: Band belongs to band, I really should go and work so I can earn real money, yadda!

It all started when a young man fell from the sky. Well, actually, he was a dragon who was able to transform into a human. He appeared out of nowhere above the home of the Walter family and immediately had the force of gravity on him. He tore a huge hole in the building, caused a monstrous crater in the garden and mashed the flowers of the lady of the house with his tail, who was very upset about it. When the dust settled there was nothing to see of the beast, instead there was a man between the fragments. Three figures approached him, undecided about whether to help him or at least to better wait and see if the dragon came back. After all, a dragon had landed and then disappeared. But perhaps the man was injured. Blood distributed in the dust and clumped there. One of the three men entered the metal piles of rubble and tore a piece of wood from the rest of the ceiling before it became dangerous to man by falling down. Without a word the man was rescued from the rubble and taken to safety while the cleanup already started. That was the life in this house. No matter what happened, they remained calm and assessed the situation neutral. Even if a giant dragon demolished the house.


	2. Chapter 2

"I don’t know what you want me to say. And I'm sure that it's not that what I really want to hear." The Spine rose from his chair and stretched. His joints were been in a better state but lately he had been too busy to care about such a thing.  
"And I think you know exactly what I want to say to you." Replied his brother Rabbit.  
"The dragon is back and he is not very happy about his situation?" Advised The Spine, when he heard the thunderous roar from the garden. Rabbit nodded. He had taken care of the injured man when he woke up. There had been confusion at first, then pure fear. Immediately, he had pushed himself away from the robot and had fled into the garden. Since then, there raged a huge red dragon. Actually he did not even rage but walked restlessly up and down. His wings were in a pitiful state just like the rest of the body of the beast. But his eyes were bright and flickered about his surroundings. They met a small figure, a man.  
"My name is Peter Walter V. I expect an apology that you destroyed my house." His white lab coat blew a little as the dragon turned to the man. The tail of the creature precipitated a beech that struck to the ground with a loud crash.  
"I'm waiting."  
Confused, the dragon put its massive head to the side and looked at the little thing. It was loud and it bugged him. In addition, he his body did still hurt terribly. What wanted this thing of him? After all, it was not his fault that he had suddenly appeared in this world. And the distance to Earth was too low, as that he could have had buoyancy. He had to fall. And it was also hardly been his intention to cause injury. But what should he do now?  
Carefully, he reached out a paw on the man. Unlike the other beings he had ever met, this small, miserable man was not afraid of him.  
"I can help you. But I will not help anyone who has no manners."  
The dragon pushed a little rubbish into a heap. That should be enough, or not?  
"That's not enough, Dragon."  
What did this little man want?  
"You scared my employees, destroyed my house and threatened life. I will not tolerate that behaviour."  
If he struck with his paw, he could easily crush the small human. But something stopped him. A rigid stare, lifeless. His eyes met the three metal creatures. Humans made of metal, which itself was new to him. And one of them came up to him now.  
"You must be hungry. I am Rabbit." A piece of meat was offered to him. Tiny, even in the hands of the robot. Nevertheless, the smell of blood tempted him to put the paw next to the robot. The metal being climbed with some difficulty and let him lift itself. Rabbit was the name of that thing. And it had food. Little, but lining. Whether he could eat it too? But Rabbit smelled uninteresting. Like unpleasant things.  
"We have a lot more in the house!" More meat was always a good thing. He could get never enough. The piece of meat was held to his nose. He grinned diabolically when he noticed that his fangs alone were greater than the metal thing in front of him. There was nothing he had to fear. The man was indeed unaware of his majestic stature but he could devour him at a pinch with a bite. Slowly he put the robot back on the floor. When the creature had climbed out of his paw, he let go of a low growl. Bones broke and grew together again as he yelled in pain. Wings disappeared into nothingness, the skull shrunk to tiny. From the dragon who had been as big as the house, a man was left behind. He was not particularly big or impressive.  
"This is the man from before!" Rabbit exclaimed in astonishment .  
"Bring him into the house. And not a word of it to Annie." Peter V ordered his robots.

The pain had given way to other feelings. Hunger, thirst, feeling of shame. What exactly had happened? He remembered the dull mind that he had been very angry. The fact that his whole body was in bandages, boded no good.  
"So you are awake?" The Spine looked up from his book and looked at the man lying in bed in front of him.  
"Water. Please."  
The robot handed him a bottle. The man drank greedily and moaned in delight as he had emptied the bottle.  
"Thank you. What happened? "  
A metal eyebrow was warped.  
“Except that you were a giant dragon? Have fallen from Heaven? Have laid half the house in ruins?"  
The man put a hand to his forehead and winced. "Did I hurt someone?"  
"Only a few abrasions on Walter Boy Charlie."  
"My name is Steve. And I'm terrible sorry."


	3. Chapter 3

"Shut up, lizard boy." Michael rolled his eyes and pushed past Steve.  
"Are you saying that it's suddenly my fault? The three are your job, not mine." Steve crossed his arms and leaned against the wall behind him.  
"I am responsible for the maintenance not for their skulls." Both technicians grumbled already for a while while they had waited outside the room.  
"You two take nothing. And now you are quiet. Rabbit it is already bad enough without your dispute."  
The two turned to the voice and saw Matt.  
"How is he?"  
"Apart from a bad conscience he is doing well. He is very ashamed for freaking out on the stage."  
Silently the men entered the hotel room in which the robot sat.  
"Did I hurt you?" Rabbit seemed to be in a better state but like Matt had already announced that he had a very bad conscience.  
"No, you didn’t hurt us. How do you feel?" Michael looked at the twisted and partially torn metal. "Nothing that I can’t repair." He ruled with a smile.  
"I feel stupid."  
Steve sat down with Rabbit on the floor and put an arm around his shoulders. "Hey, nothing bad happened. You're fine and we too." He looked around. "Where are your brothers?"  
Rabbit sniffed. "T-t-t-t-t -the Spine brings me new oil out of the car. And Hatchy brings me i -i-i -i- ice cream."  
"Here I am again." The Spine entered the room and sat down next to his brother. Michael took the oil bottle and filled the small oil tank in Rabbit, who provided his joints with grease.  
"And here is Hatchy!" The bronze robot took the opportunity of the open door to roll to his brother. With a broad grin, he held out an empty waffle cone, the ice ball was spread on the carpet.  
Matt smiled and tried to mop up the dilemma. "You can’t ice cream." He said.  
"But it looks great!" Rabbit insisted on his ice cream and looked at the empty ice cream cone.  
Steve grinned and stood up. "I'll get you something better."

The lady of the ice cream parlor did look confused as Steve had placed his order. But the bill on the counter finally convinced her that this particular customer insisted on his request. Her boss just shook his head as she filled the ice cubes into colorfully decorated sundaes and decorated this works again. The three sundaes landed on a tray, followed by five normal ice cream cones which were filled with different flavors of ice cream.

The dispute of before was forgotten and forgiven when Michael got his sundae. Even if he was a little jealous of the little pink umbrella that graced Rabbit’s ice.  
“Everything alright again? Each one?" Steve looked around in the round. Both Walter girls who had come along nodded. Matt was smeared from top to bottom with ice as Hatchworth had necessarily wanted to share with him. The Spine and Rabbit were too busy to answer. Rabbit had put a waffle on his brother’s hat and called him a "morose sundae", he in turn had taken the small umbrella from him and now claimed that Rabbit would have to watch the next rain who kept him dry. Michael nodded in response and ate his ice cream with a smile.


	4. Chapter 4

This time it had happened to The Spine. Michael could only thank whomever that it had happened when they had just entered the house. The malfunctions of The Spine were always the worst and most dangerous. He was often plagued by memories of war or other terrible things, so that Michael did not want to know what the robot had all witnessed. All he knew was that these memories technically no longer were allowed to exist. He had often cleaned the disk, deleted data and even manipulated entries. But apparently many had stayed none the less.  
He sighed as he pulled the welding goggles from his eyes and looked at his work. The physical damage this time was held in borders, now he would only have to test how The Spine’s "mental" status was.  
"The Spine is now online." Green eyes took in the surrounding area and the rest of the body responded by letting off steam. A good sign.  
"Hey, buddy. How are you?" Michael slipped with his chair to create little more space. The Spine sat up and rubbed his head.  
"A malfunction. Any injured? "He always looked at it neutral like this, but Michael knew The Spine felt different.  
"No. Just yourself. It wasn’t pretty to watch but I deactivated you fast enough." Michael avoided to finish his sentence.  
"Before I hurt somebody." The Spine knew as well as Rabbit and Hatchworth to his strength and also as fast as he could violate the "delicate " humans, even though he might not even want it. Michael nodded and shrugged.  
"Anyway, everything is okay again. Rabbit and Hatchworth are worrying about you, you shouldn’t let them wait."  
Normally, the robots were always welcome in the shop, but after malfunctions Michael had always chased them out, in order to concentrate better. Two siblings who wept oil and always faced him with the same questions while he operated on the third party were to be much for him to detect possible sources of error.  
The metal man stood up and took his hat. He put him on before he left the shop and was happily greeted by his siblings.  
"Mike? How did it go?" Steve reported immediately via the intercom when he noticed that Michael was finished with his work. On the screen, the technician could clearly see him and Matt with worried expressions.  
"All good. The damage was limited due to the shutdown.”  
He stated monotonously and turned the computer off. He had no desire to deal with the others. The Spine’s last sentence still haunted him in his head. "Everything is green."


	5. Chapter 5

Time had passed, a lot had happened in the Walter mansion.  
Matt smiled bravely and nodded Peter VI when he entered the house.  
"What’s happened?" Like the very master of the house, despite his young age, the head of the Walter family saw the dilemma that lay on the face of the technician.  
"Everything. We found a giraffe in the basement. GG. She talks non-stop. Rabbit wants to be a woman. Michael and Steve have discussed new cables for 4 days now. The Walter Girls drive me insane with their wife talks and the Walter Boys have become a bunch of arrogant bastards. Oh yeah, and The Spine really believed he was a human."  
Peter sighed deeply. He should still rest but he could not based on these problems.  
"Tape around the giraffe’s snout, Rabbit gets an upgrade, they should take the better cable no matter how expensive it is. The girls are doing their job, just like the boys. If I catch one while lounging around, they are thrown out. And Michael should look at The Spine."  
The commands left the mask without any major problems. A fact that calmed Matt. He nodded and ran to tell everyone.  
"Mother, you don’t have to stay with me. I'm fine." Peter turned to his companion and hoped that despite his mask she somehow perceived his smile. She returned the smile and even put a hand on his arm.  
"You're going to rest now and I will sort things out, Peter. You are too much like your father."

And indeed, Mistress Walter had solved the whole problem in a matter of hours. She had found out that a couple had formed among the servants and separated again. And the parties were of course a perfect distraction from worrying about Peter Walter VI after his accident. Many questions were answered, more questions were asked, until she finally asked for leniency and retired to her room.  
A green and one blue eye scrutinized her through the darkness. Rabbit grimaced as she turned on the light.  
"And you? I've heard you want to be a girl?"  
Rabbit nodded. "I 'm too old for a girl. But a woman. Women are great."  
Mistress Walter sat down with the robot on the bed.  
"I know you like to put on dresses, Rabbit. And Peter also told me how long you've been thinking about this." She gently stroked the robot’s cheek.  
Rabbit tried seemingly hold back tears, but failed. Frantically he tried to prevent the oil to drip onto the sheets. A cloth helped him. Mistress Walter smiled at him. "Peter is sure to find a solution and make a pretty lady out of you."  
"Mistress Walter! Rabbit!" Michael had opened the door and seemed to be completely out of breath. "It's The Spine!"

Images flashed through his head. Rabbit shouted helplessly, he could still hear that. However, the images, the feelings that they triggered, they were too strong . He tried to push his brother away from himself as a big cramp came. The wires congested and he could feel joints loosening and eventually breaking. A cry was expressed through his throat, a plea for mercy. His sensors gave him false values , catapulted him into the past that he would rather forget. Rabbit, broken down into his component parts. The Jon, smeared with human blood as he ran through a contaminated gas field. The Spine writhed helplessly, trying to get to his defective wires with his hands. Metal gave way with a screech as his fingers dug into the face plates and tore it. Somewhere had to be the fault. Somehow he had to stop the pictures. The screams grew louder, multiplied and sang him a cruel cacophony that brought his audio sensors to overloading. Steam rose before his eyes and plunged the scene in his head in a murky fog from which there seemed to be no escape. Suddenly everything was silent. Whatever had brought him in this state, it had loosened its grip. The Spine had lost the battle anyway. His legs failed him and he thundered on the floor of the house unrestrained. His systems tried to keep him online but they failed and The Spine turned himself off.


	6. Chapter 6

Silently he sat on the porch and watched Rabbit and Hatchworth trying to catch a butterfly. A sigh escaped his lips and he watched the leaked steam on its way into the blue sky.  
"How are you, The Spine?" Steve crouched beside the robot and looked at him from the side.  
"Something is wrong with me." The Spine admitted as if he would be ashamed of his mistakes.  
"Mike has checked you. There is no error. You just worry too much." Steve tried to calm his friend.  
"It's not about failures, Steve. I can feel it in my heart. As if something eats me. And I do not know what it is and whether it is a threat to you." It was hard for him to admit that he actually could be a danger to the people around him. And not only that, even his siblings weren’t safe from him.  
"Hey, we've been through more shit, don’t you think?" Steve smiled at him encouragingly and placed a warm hand on The Spines cold one.  
"I want to make sure it never happens again."  
Three days it had been that Michael had not let him out of the shop and insisted that each step was recorded by a camera. Even Peter had come in the meantime and had asked about The Spine’s status because in spite of the repairs, it always came back to failures.  
"And if so, then we are there for you again." Steve's optimism was a rare gift to The Spine and he tried something that people would have called a "brave smile”.  
"Shall we let the two run around and go in? I've got some sweet tricks that I have to show to you!"  
The Spine stood up and brushed the dust from his pants. A malfuntion threatened to win him over, he felt the wired overheat. And yet nothing happened.  
Surprised, he looked at Steve and shook the thought from his head. This simply couldn’t be.

"Rabbit, slowly!" Peter's words went unheard as Rabbit staggered across the room. The Spine smiled proudly, holding out an arm as support.  
"You shouldn’t overdo it, sis." He chided her lovingly.  
"Am I pretty?" Rabbit grinned broadly with her new face.  
"The prettiest robot lady I've ever seen." The Spine replied dutifully as the door opened and Hatchworth saw into Peter's office.  
"You look great! Do we want to play outside?" And that left The Spine and Peter alone.  
"The guys have spoken to me about you. I'll be honest, The Spine. Maybe it really is better if you begrudge yourself a break."  
Green eyes scanned the rigid mask and tried to find out whether it was a bad joke.  
"You all lately had a bit of too much excitement. You especially. No wonder if your wires overheat and you, forgive me my language, go crazy."  
Was that what was going through The Spine? A simple overload?  
He snorted, then nodded.  
"Maybe I should do that. Take a break from the whole thing."

"It's just too long since he 's down there. A fucking week without signs of life! That's all what I say, Michael."  
"If he wants a break, let him have it no matter how long it is."  
"Oh great, you want to play his part in the next show? Want to explain to people why he is in this cellar hole rather than on the stage?"  
"Steve! I know exactly what he's going through."  
"Oh yeah, the great master knows everything."  
"Let him down there. We'll find an alternative!" With these words, the two men pounded in different directions.  
Hatchworth waited a moment until the coast was clear and then snuck into the basement.  
"The Spine?" He had downloaded all the information and tried to find his brother in the vast halls.  
"Get out." The voice seemed to come from everywhere at once.  
"We're all worried about you. Please do come back up." Hatchworth wasn’t comfortable in that kind of environment. Actually, he just wanted to get The Spine and then disappear again. Outside, the sun was shining, it would distract him and his brother. Not like the oppressive darkness below that repressed any joy from his circuits.  
"I have told you to go away." This time the voice was clearly heard behind him, so that Hatchworth turned and found himself face to face with something that might once have been his brother.  
The razor sharp blades of his vertebrae stung out of the vest, the fingers were curved as if they were claws. A derisive smile played around the black lips.  
"Hello my dear brother." The Spine’s voice had lost its usual harmony and had become a faint scratching.  
"There you are. You don’t look well. Are you sick?" Despite his fear of his own brother Hatchworth tried to loosen the mood. A strong hand grabbed him around the neck.  
"No. I never felt better. And you will be better soon, too."


	7. Chapter 7

Matt stretched out in the sun and grinned. All his daily chores were done, everything was quiet. Michael had gone into the city to buy new tools and Steve had moved into the pool. Birds sang from the trees and a light breeze tempered the heat. He closed his eyes and relaxed his body. The heat did the rest and he was already asleep.

"Such a bum." Michael grinned as he saw Matt lying in the sun. The new tools, a drill and a grinder, he laid on the kitchen table with a note that he would put them away himself. He did not want anyone to get injured.  
Armed with a bucket he crept through the garden to Matt. Cautiously he heaved the bucket over his head and tried not to spill a drop of cold water.  
"Hi Michael!"   
He yelled, Matt yelled, the bucket flew and hit a poor Rabbit who now looked at the two people completely soaked.  
"H-h-h-h-have I frightened you?" She wanted to know.  
Michael laughed. "Hell yes! Come on in and we’ll dry you up."  
Matt grinned at him mischievously and snuggled back on his couch before he closed his eyes and tried to suppress a giggle.

Arrived in the mansion Michael handed Rabbit a towel and helped her to dry off.  
"You wanted to make Matt wet? That's not very nice." She scolded him.  
"Rabbit, you know the concept of a prank . Or what was the rubber snake in Steve's cookie jar?"  
The robot seemed to briefly consider. "That was the just punishment that he has not bought me such a great cookie jar." She had been so jealous at that time.  
Michael snorted contrived and winked at Rabbit . "Let's put the things in the workshop? Then I can also try something on you."  
Rabbit leaned forward a little and looked at the human. "What are you doing?" She asked suspiciously.  
"Nothing bad. I promise. Look!" He reached into his shopping bags and rummaged there for something small. Rabbit was curious before but couldn’t hold herself now because of the excitement.  
"Ta -dah!" In Michael's hand several earrings were visible. Rabbit’s eyes widened. "They are pretty!" Was all she could say because already she was busy holding the earrings to the long metal ears. "I want these!" She finally decided, handing Michael a couple.  
"Then come with me and I will drill a hole for your earrings."  
"Do you also have any for me? With lizards?" Steve had sneaked into the kitchen unnoticed and had taken something to drink from the fridge. But the sparkle and excitement of Rabbit had then made him curious.  
"They are actually for Rabbit. Or shall I also drill a hole for you?" Michael laughed and handed Steve the other earrings.  
"Thanks, but no thanks. Hmm, even though they are really sweet." Tentatively, the sound technician was holding a bright pink pair to his ears. Rabbit chuckled and nodded.  
"T-t-t-t-they look great!"  
Steve grinned and handed it back to Michael. "Have you seen one of the other two robots? I’m seeking Hatchworth already for a solid hour and he answers to no radio."  
"Hatchy is gone?" Rabbit closed his eyes and held out her Wi -Fi sensor.  
"I don’t know where he is." She said confused. Even if Hatchworth had left the house or been in stasis, she could locate him.  
"The same game with The Spine. Although I truly believe that he is still in the basement."  
Michael had had enough. "Yes! Damn, yes. I'm already going down and get him back up."

"The Spine ? Hatchworth?" He cursed himself that he had never insisted to let the bulbs replaced down there. Sure, the staircase was lit and the first meters of the cellar too. But everything after that was in total darkness and even Michael's flashlight wasn’t much of a help if he was lost.  
Cobwebs hung from the ceilings, water puddles had formed over the years of broken-in water. Michael muttered as he had stepped into a puddle of such once again and now the water forced its way through his shoes.  
"Come on, this isn’t funny. I'll get a cold down here." He muttered angrily. If the two would finally react then he wouldn’t have to continue his search for them in this hole.  
"Why do you want to get something that anyway comes to you, Michael?" Blue eyes glowed through the darkness like a neon torch.  
"Hatchworth. Where is The Spine?" Michael had become tired of the games of the robots. He wanted to get out and take off his wet shoes. A movement behind him made him whirl around. The Spine looked down at him.  
"What the hell happened to you? Come on, let me repair you. Both of you."  
"I think not, Mr. Reed."  
Something in Michael's mind screamed at him that he should run away. Only his head nor his legs refused to do something in this direction but as Hatchworth approached, Michael ran. Heavy footsteps sounded behind him as at least one robot ran after him.  
That must be Hatchworth. The Spine would... Michael came to no end with his thoughts as The Spine’s head dropped itself from the ceiling and snapped at the man.  
"QWERTY, initiate emergency protocol! Lock the cellar!" Michael yelled into his radio as he had jumped over the head and now almost looked at the cellar door in front of him.  
"Got it. The basement level is closed off." And already heavy roller doors lowered from the ceiling to block this door. Michael swore and jumped.  
Something grabbed his foot and pulled him to the ground.   
"Do you want to leave already, Mr. Reed?" Michael looked down at The Spine’s head and saw Hatchworth in the first hallway light coming towards him.  
A hand grabbed him and dragged him with a jerk out under the door before the heavy metal closed with a loud bang on the floor.  
"Good day, Mr. Reed." Rabbit leaned over the confused and frightened technician who was now fed up of robots.  
"Get away! Don’t come too close!" He yelled and tried to escape from her on all fours. He ended up on a couple of half-naked legs.  
"Hey, it’s not nice to peak into my shorts from below." Steve's laughter disappeared immediately when he saw the naked panic in the eyes of his colleague.  
"Rabbit, get Peter and Matt immediately. Mike, what happened?"


	8. Chapter 8

"That would explain their absence. A virus or something similar they could’ve invaded them and now they infect each other." Peter was apparently fascinated by the idea. "If we can reprogram the virus then we would save us all the work of upgrading you individually!" He exclaimed happily.  
"Before or after they kill us?" Steve and Matt sat next to Michael who was now wrapped in a blanket but was still trembling.  
Peter opened his mouth to say something but Rabbit held up a hand.  
"You're right, Pe-e-e-e-etes. These are not my brothers. T-t-t-t-they would never hurt anyone."  
"Exactly, Rabbit! That's the point! They are totally manipulated! I want a sample of this virus! It is fantastic that such a thing is possible."  
"Peter Walter VI ! I understand your joy but keep in mind that this robots also can be dangerous. This gate doesn’t hold them trapped forever in the basement. I have already sent the Walter girls and boys in our central warehouse." Mistress Annie was not to talk back and turned to the technicians. "I'm afraid we need your help."  
Michael shook his head. "They’ll kill us before we can do anything." He had experienced how serious it was both crazy robots with it on his own body.  
"I s-s-s-s-s-steer them off!" Rabbit tried to help but the people looked at her with a strange look.  
"We don’t know how the virus spreads, Rabbit. Two of you are already dangerous enough. But to loose all three of you? That wouldn’t be good."  
Annie looked at her son in surprise. Had her sermon thus made a difference to him?  
"Breakthrough in the basement!" Reported an electronic voice from Michael’s radio.  
"Without distraction, we are done." Matt objected while Peter was looking for important documents .  
"Rabbit, you'll have to accompany us in there. We need your protection." Annie gave the copper robot a warm and encouraging smile.  
"And how do we do it?" Michael and Matt were sure that they had no chance against the robot. Steve smiled. "I think I have an idea." He looked at Annie. "Sorry, but I'm afraid your flower bed will no longer be available tomorrow."  
She hugged him and smiled at him. "Come back healthy and in one piece. Then I'll ignore it."

Rabbit fled with the Walters while the technicians descended the stairs.  
"The main thing is that we bring them out. Here I can’t do anything." Steve looked around and ran through the room. No sign of the robots.  
"QWERTY, can you locate The Spine or Hatchworth?"  
"Dining room, ground floor, left wing." The humans looked at each other. They were in the same room with their enemies.  
Matt yelled in horror as a laser shot missed him. That was the start signal for all of them to start running. Wild panic took hold as they recognized The Spine behind them but Hatchworth had still not been found.  
"Get out!" Commanded Steve and turned just in time to escape from Hatchworth. The robot was about to reach straight for the man and then grabbed into the void.  
Michael and Matt stormed through the open door into the garden.  
"Hide yourselves!" Steve looked around wildly and was caught by Hatchworth.  
"Hey, metal idiot!" Matt threw himself on the robot and tried to turn him off.  
"Negative." The Spine ripped the technician of Hatchworth’s back and let him fall to the ground.   
"Where is Rabbit?" He demanded to know.  
An inhuman scream made him sway. "Hatchworth, into the house." He ordered in a second. He had seen the beast before and didn’t wish to make acquaintance with the dragon for a second time.


	9. Chapter 9

"What do we do now?" After the initial shock Michael and Matt thawed and were now trying to forge a plan with Steve.  
"As long as they are in the house, I can’t do anything without damaging the whole building. And even then they would have enough protection in the basement." The huge dragon let out a small jet of flame toward the house and spread his leathery wings frustrated.  
"Then you probably need s-s-s-s-s-s-someone that gets the bad g-----uys out of it?"   
Rabbit, the hope of the Walter family, stood in front of them, ready to fight.  
"The danger is too great that you'll also be affected." Matt said.  
"But not if I have an old s-s-s-s-s-s-ssystem ! The virus can-n-n-n-n-n-n-n not work." In fact, Rabbits speech impediment seemed to have doubled again.  
"No, Rabbit. You have the same system as your brothers." Michael himself had stayed up late nights to upgrade the robots.  
"P-p-p-p-p-p-petes has made a n-n-n-n-n-new for me."  
"Whether two or three crazy robots romp around in there I couldn’t care less. We have to get them out of the house. Because once they are out here they have no chance." Steve recalled only briefly the smell of meat from his first encounter with Rabbit.

Half an hour had passed when the three men had the first visual contact with the robots. The Spine slipped through one of the corridors on the third floor but he was too fast as that Steve could have reacted. Then a flame raced down the hall. The windows shattered and the heat seared the wood of the frame.  
"Get ready!" Rabbit’s voice cracked as she continued to chased The Spine.  
A paw pushed Matt and Michael aside while the other was lurking above the door.  
The Spine opted for the window on the first floor. He rolled off and turned the weapon immediately towards the humans. The paw took him and buried him in the dirt of the yard.  
Michael and Matt cheered when Steve roared in pain and raised his paw in the air. Heavy drops of blood rained down onto the ground and the dragon snapped irritably. Never had a being been able to hurt him like this.  
"So you're not invulnerable. Hatchworth? Start the machine." The Spine actually seemed to have only waited a little. He was still lying in the deep pit that had seized the dragon paw. But he smiled.  
A mechanical hum vibrated through the whole house. The front of the roof fell in on itself.  
"Run!" Matt was the first to understand what the robots were up to.  
The machine hummed like a wild swarm of bees and glowed more brightly as it was straightened up to Steve.  
He had the choice. Would he now become a man he would fall to his death because the transfiguration took place from the head. If he did not do it, he could not avoid the shot and would be taken.  
"Evil Hatchy!" Again, the flames spread around and sank Hatchworth’s clothing. With a loud cry, he tried to escape the heat that attacked his bronze alloy. Steve took his chance and grabbed the machine. He smashed it on the floor and watched the fight. Rabbit finally stopped enough to distance herself to Hatchworth, so the dragon could grab him.  
"Let my brother go or people die." The Spine had not been idle. Now he held Michael and Matt in a net which consisted apparently of pure blue matter.  
Steve sat Hatchworth down next to him. "Let them go." He kept his part of the claim but the power remained where it was.  
"H-h-h-h-h-h-he said, you shall let them g-g-g-g-g-go, The Spine." Rabbit jumped from the roof and landed safely on her feet.  
"You don’t understand, sister. Come and enjoy your power. These weak humans always want to change us."  
Hatchworth walked over to Rabbit and reached his singed hand to her.  
"I 'm not your s-s-s-s-s-sister! My b-b-b-b-brothers would never hurt their f-f-f-f-f-friends!" Rabbit dodged the hand.  
That was the moment when a sparkle attracted Steve’s attention. There was something about Hatchworth. A tiny little thing that was placed in his neck. A targeted jet of flame, just hot enough to scratch titanium, provided a sufficient distraction for The Spine. Rabbit threw herself with a cry on Hatchworth and wrestled with him. Steve gave The Spine a powerful blow with his paw. Even he was surprised how far the robot flew before he tore a long crater in the farthest corner of the garden.  
"There's something in Hatchy’s neck!" Rabbit called to Steve and ripped it from the metal. Her eyes widened in shock and then were grim. "Steve? I take care of The Spine. Get Michael and Matt out of here." All language errors were eliminated, a sure sign of Rabbit’s bad mood. No, it didn’t sound right. She had no bad temper, Rabbit Walter was ready to kill someone. And now she stamped growling in the farthest corner of the garden, always following the sign of The Spine.

He slowly came back to life as his blood cycle came back into the swing and his human body was supplied with blood. With a tired look he watched as Hatchworth approached his friends. Steve wanted to jump up, to stop him but his muscles protested and followed their task very slowly.  
"Don’t worry, Steve. I’ll help them." In fact, Hatchworth bowed to the power source of the network and turned it off. Once the two men weren’t trapped anymore the robot pulled them into a careful hug. Oil flowed as he apologized over and over again for his actions.  
"It's all right. That wasn’t you. But who had the hell was it?" Michael went to the thing Rabbit had dropped and picked it up. His gaze darkened.  
"Hatchworth, watch out for them not to demolish the house." He ordered scarce. Steve and Matt looked at each other and then went to Michael who showed them the thing without further comments.  
"A chip with the logo of Becile?" Steve didn’t know how to react.  
"And who has offered to help me with The Spine?" Michael asked seething with anger. He had accepted the offer from Norman happily and had even learned a few tricks.  
Silently, the three men made their way to the store house. Behind them noises were heard as they are otherwise known only from wars but they trusted that Rabbit had her brother under control.


	10. Chapter 10

The face that Norman Becile made when the three technicians entered the warehouse already spoke volumes. But when he learned that the situation was under control he could barely speak.  
"And there's something else. We have found something." Michael threw the chip to his feet and looked at him coolly.  
"This is an insinuation! How long had my family have now worked together with the Walters?" Norman exclaimed angrily.  
"Not long enough to forget what had happened. And not long enough to lose an old grudge, Norman. Was that you?" Mistress Annie remained calm but her tone made it clear that she expected an answer.  
"No!"  
"You helped me with The Spine a few weeks ago. You have the technical expertise and you would have let me almost get killed, you bastard!" Matt held Michael back while he looked angrily at Becile.  
"Are there any other evidence except this chip?" Peter seemed to have taken the same attitude as his mother. He didn’t distrust Norman actually, what would be the reason to do so?  
"No." Michael calmed down but still gritted his teeth .  
"The chip was built with blue matter. The plans are in workshop 3 under a pile of scrap metal. They are signed by Norman Becile." The Spine’s voice silenced everything else in the hall.  
"And you know how? I am sure you placed them there!" Becile still foamed with rage about these allegations.  
"You showed me the plans. Of a chip which wasn’t able to work! It would never have been ..." Peter had become pale as he realized the betrayal of his friend.  
"Who helped you build it? Why did you betray me after all these years? And not only me, my entire family!"  
Norman smiled. "Those weren’t my plans." He limped to one of the innumerable boxes nearby and tore a drape of a person.  
"I think most of you don’t know Ignatius M. Becile yet."  
Rabbit had appeared behind The Spine and now saw with her own eyes the man had done all that to her all those years ago. But not only Rabbit was surprised to see an old enemy.  
"You." Steve was ready to tear the man to pieces. "You drawn the crack in the sky and let me fall!"  
Ignatius smiled. "Ah , the dragon, isn’t it? Interesting creature."  
Peter looked back and forth between the parties, confused why after all these decades the enemies of the Walter family had apparently reunited.  
"But I myself have a few tricks up my sleeve." Ignatius slowly opened his shirt and put the view to a shimmering green energy nuclear.  
"I am immortal. And I wanted to make you one of mine. But you had to see through it." Contempt was hearable in his voice with as he turned to the robots.  
"But you're not fire-proof." Flames rose to meet him and ate through the human skin without resistance. Norman did the only correct thing and took a step back as his accomplice died in the flames. Appalled how easy their brilliant plans dissolved into air or rather burst into flames.  
"Say Cheese." Peter held his phone up and took a picture of him.  
"The picture will now go to the press with the story of your treason. Look how you survive alone and without my help."  
No one disagreed with the harsh judgment of the head of the family. No one stopped Norman when he left the hall to hide somewhere in the world.


	11. Chapter 11

The events had left on each of the parties involved with deep wounds. Rabbit had not left her room for days and wanted to see nobody.  
The Spine and Hatchworth spent hours trying to apologize to every home resident and to blame themselves how such a thing could have happened.  
But the humans were affected. Steve's injured hand had to be operated on several times before he regained a little movement in the fingers. Michael still winced when the lights went out or the basement was mentioned. He left the band and vowed to never look again at a robot.  
The strangest thing, however, was Matt. He sneaked out of the house at night and only returned again at dawn. One morning he didn’t come back.

Peter Walter VI reigned the family empire for a long time and became the proud father of seven healthy children and grandfather of 19 grandchildren. After the story was long forgotten, Rabbit was only called Grandma, what she found very annoying. And although The Spine and Hatchworth laughed about it they were no better off as grandpa.  
In all the years between the events the robots reappeared under the name Steam Powered Giraffe and toured again through different cities. Their successes soon got around all over the country and everyone wanted to see the musicians. But at some point it became very quiet around them. Quiet enough to spend time with the new inhabitants of the house, to breathe and think clearly about the past. They swore never to allow any other human to repair them. The only exception being the family members and Steve.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woohoo, that's it! Somehow I still struggle to write a long story without all these time jumps. Sorry about that. 
> 
> Please leave a kudo or a comment if you want. ^___^ Thank you for reading!


End file.
